Our Hawaiian vacation started with a bit of adventure! Saturday morning, we both slept through our alarms. I woke up at 3:53 am (thankfully) - our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:00 am. We arrived at the airport just in the nick of time, only to discover that our flight had been canceled. We could either wait to fly out the next day, thus cutting our time in Hawaii a day short and missing the opening banquet, OR we could drive to Jamestown and fly out there at 7:14 am. It is a 90 mile drive to Jamestown, but we made that flight. From Jamestown we flew to Minneapolis, then LA, then Honolulu, and then (finally) to Maui. It was an adventure! Really, it did not stress either of us out a bit. When can I spend 20 hours either napping or reading? I arrived at Hawaii rested! I spent at least 8 hours sleeping on planes on Saturday. It was awesome!
My only complaint about the change in travel plans is that we arrived after dark. I was so excited to SEE Hawaii, but it was also very incredible to wake up to this amazing view!
The ocean is my very favorite place. I love the sound of the waves crashing, the smell of warm humid air, the birds singing. . . It was absolutely amazing to wake up to all of it.
We spent Sunday checking out the resort. We walked on the beach for miles, napped in the sun, and attended a big banquet. (Although we have a lot of leisure time on these trips there are several business meetings that Chad attends and several evenings of banquets that we both go to. Chief, our building supplier, treats us like royalty. They are always fun events. This year Chad was given an Honerable Mentionaward for the BSC Aquatic & Wellness Center project. That project was a nightmare to build, so it was encouraging to see Chad honored for his work on it. )
The rain forest hike was really interesting. We saw a lot and learned a lot. The one thing that was the oddest to me is that we saw very few animals. Only birds! The guide explained that because Hawaii was formed from volcanoes, there are very few animals here. If they can not swim or fly, they were introduced by man. There are NO snakes in Hawaii.
On the drive back to the hotel we stopped to watch the surfers and wind surfers.
That was really neat too.
In ND, when it is windy we complain because it ruins our water sports. Here they drive around the island searching for the best wind and waves!
Last night we had very fancy dinner at a restaurant called The Plantation. It overlooked the golf course that opens the PGA tour each year. The food was beautiful and delicious. It was a very un-ND experience!
As amazing and glamorous as moments of this trip have been, I am really longing for home today! My Jamison plays in the 8th grade championship basketball game tonight and I have been so sad all day about missing it! I am beyond thankful and thrilled to be here in warm sunny Hawaii - but there is no place like home! I am praying for you Jamison! It has been a hard season. I am so proud of how you have risen to the challenge with such courage, strength, and self-control. I am amazed at the man you are becoming. I can not wait to hear all about the game, and I know that you can and will "do all things through Christ who gives you strength." I love you, Jay!
I would also appreciate your continued prayers for my Grandma as she recovers from shoulder replacement surgery.
Tomorrow we will fly over to Honolulu to tour Pearl Harbor. Chad and I are both very excited for the day. It is also the 20 anniversary of our "going together." How amazing that we will spend that day - February 29 (yep, we started going out on leap day) in Hawaii. It is an incredible blessing to say the least.
